/Adjectives
B1Adjectives

Order of Adjectives

1

What is it?

When using multiple adjectives before a noun, they must follow a specific order in English. The general order is: Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Color → Origin → Material → Purpose + Noun. For example, "a beautiful small old round red Italian leather racing car." While native speakers follow this order naturally, learners need to study and practice it consciously.

2

How to form it

SubjectPositiveNegativeQuestion
Opinion + Sizea beautiful big housenot a beautiful big houseIs it a beautiful big house?
Size + Colora small red carnot a small red carIs it a small red car?
Age + Coloran old blue jacketnot an old blue jacketIs it an old blue jacket?
Opinion + Age + Origina lovely old French paintingnot a lovely old French paintingIs it a lovely old French painting?
Size + Shape + Colora big round yellow ballnot a big round yellow ballIs it a big round yellow ball?
Opinion + Materiala comfortable leather sofanot a comfortable leather sofaIs it a comfortable leather sofa?
  • • Adjective order: Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Color → Origin → Material → Purpose
  • • Opinion adjectives come first: beautiful, lovely, nice, ugly, terrible
  • • Size adjectives come early: big, small, tall, short, huge, tiny
  • • Age comes before shape: old, new, young, ancient, modern
  • • Color comes after shape: red, blue, green, yellow, dark, bright
  • • Origin and Material come near the end: French, Italian, wooden, metal, plastic
  • • Purpose (what it's used for) comes just before the noun: racing car, sleeping bag
3

When to use it

  1. 1

    Opinion adjectives first — subjective descriptions come before objective ones

    "a beautiful big house" (not "a big beautiful house") / "a lovely old painting"

  2. 2

    Size before other physical descriptions — how big before what it looks like

    "a small red car" / "a big round table" / "a tiny green leaf"

  3. 3

    Age before color — how old before what color

    "an old blue jacket" / "a new red dress" / "an ancient golden coin"

  4. 4

    Origin and material near the end — where from and what made of

    "a beautiful Italian leather bag" / "an expensive Swiss watch"

  5. 5

    Purpose just before noun — what it's used for comes last

    "a racing car" / "a sleeping bag" / "a shopping bag"

4

Common mistakes

a red big ball

a big red ball

Size (big) comes before color (red) in adjective order.

a wooden beautiful table

a beautiful wooden table

Opinion (beautiful) comes before material (wooden).

a French old wine

an old French wine

Age (old) comes before origin (French).

a leather brown expensive jacket

an expensive brown leather jacket

Follow the order: opinion (expensive) → color (brown) → material (leather).

5

Quick reference

  • Order: Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Color → Origin → Material → Purpose
  • Opinion first: beautiful, lovely, nice (subjective descriptions)
  • Size early: big, small, tall, short
  • Age before color: old blue jacket, new red car
  • Origin and material near end: Italian leather, French wine
  • Purpose last: racing car, sleeping bag
  • Common mistake: Don't put color before size (big red, not red big)
6

Natural conversation example

At a furniture store, looking at different items

C

Customer

I'm looking for a comfortable brown leather sofa.
S

Sales Person

We have several options. This is a beautiful large Italian leather sofa.
C

Customer

That's nice, but do you have something smaller?
S

Sales Person

Yes, we have this lovely small modern grey fabric sofa.
C

Customer

What about that one? The old wooden chair?
S

Sales Person

That's a gorgeous antique French wooden dining chair. Very popular.
C

Customer

I'll take the small grey sofa, please.

Practice Exercises

Put the adjectives in the correct order.

  1. 1.
    She bought a
  2. 2.
    I want a
  3. 3.
    He has an
  4. 4.
    They live in a
  5. 5.
    She wore a
  6. 6.
    I need a
Adjectives Comparative and SuperlativeAll TopicsParticiple Adjectives

Now use Order of Adjectives in real conversation

Grammar sticks when you use it out loud. Practise with an AI tutor who gives you instant feedback.

Speak with AI Tutor